Sister cities of Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton /ˌwʊlvərˈhæmptən/ is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. In the 2011 census, the local government district had population of 249,470. Wolverhampton's urban population at the time of the 2001 census was given as 251,462, and was the second largest component of the West Midlands Urban Area which makes it part of the second largest urban area in the United Kingdom. By this reckoning, it is the 12th largest city in England outside London. For Eurostat purposes, Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG39). People from Wolverhampton are known as "Wulfrunians".

Historically a part of Staffordshire, and forming part of the metropolitan county of the West Midlands from 1974, the city is commonly recognised as being named after Lady Wulfrun, who founded the town in 985: its name coming from Anglo-Saxon Wulfrūnehēantūn = "Wulfrūn's high or principal enclosure or farm". Prior to the Norman Conquest, the area's name appears only as variants of Heantune or Hamtun, the prefix Wulfrun or similar appearing in 1070 and thereafter. Alternatively, the city may have earned its original name from Wulfereēantūn = "Wulfhere's high or principal enclosure or farm" after the Mercian King, who tradition tells us established an abbey in 659, though no evidence of an abbey has been found.

The city grew initially as a market town with specialism within the woollen trade. During and after the Industrial Revolution, the city became a major industrial centre, with mining (mostly coal, limestone and iron ore) as well as production of steel, japanning, locks, motorcycles and cars – including the first vehicle to hold the Land speed record at over 200 mph. Today, the major industries within the city are both engineering based (including a large aerospace industry) and within the service sector.